Rate of Attraction
by nii-nii93
Summary: The story of how Sun Ce & Da Qiao came to be: disputes, rivals & sweetness. T rating comes into play in later chapters..
1. First Impression

**This is my disclaimer for the whole story [so that I don't have to keep on writing it]:**

**I do not own any of the characters involved in the series of Dynast Warriors. Of course, someone sitting in an office does…**

**So this is the first chapter of my brand new story, Rate of Attraction.**

**I basically got the inspiration when I considered the relationship of this couple. When you think about it, Da Qiao and Sun Ce are almost complete opposites! Do you think they would have had an instant liking to each other? Maybe physically, but I think there must have been a few personality clashes… Anyway, this is my version of how the two met & came to be.**

**Enjoy, and review^^**

**

* * *

**

**First Impressions**

_- "It's the first impression that will either open the door or close it. It's that important, so don't mess it up" [Nicholas Sparks]_

"Da Qiao, don't be like that! Please, we haven't been in town for a while… I don't wanna go home just yet…" Xiao Qiao moaned to her sister who she was trying to pull back in the opposite direction.

It however could not be helped. Da Qiao was fuming and did not want to cause a public scene. Not only did she feel embarrassed at this point in time, but she felt like she had just lost in a game. Yes, she felt like a loser. What had happened should have ended in her favour, alas it did not and now she was left empty handed _and_ annoyed.

_Now, I'm sure you are wondering what exactly it is that occurred to make the heroine of this story so vexed. Let's go back a few minutes ago shall we…?_

"Excuse me, kind sir, this is beautiful. How much are you selling this for?" The young girl had taken a shine to the exquisite tapestry. Although it would have looked beautiful in her room, it was actually intended for a dear friend of hers. She had always had a taste for buying presents for other people; you could, perhaps, call it a talent of hers (she certainly would not have). Her own sister had run off somewhere in pursuit of finding something on her own to get for the soon-to-be birthday celebrant.

"Oho.. This is an excellent choice milady. You have a wonderful eye." The vendor smiled, glad to have a potential customer at his less-than-thriving stall. "However, the price does not come cheap. Did you know this was made by the hands of my blind wife?" The little fact had not been entirely true: Yes his talented wife had made it, although she was not blind. Mentioning this to potential customers seemed to give the products he sold a little bit more of an amazing back-story and, if not that, would perhaps guilt-trip the patron into buying.

Clearly having been fish-hooked into the half-truth the young lady stood, amazed. The beautiful piece of work seemed almost too perfect to have been created at the hands of someone who was blind. "Really? Well, might I enquire how much this is?" she repeated her question confidently with a smile, assuring the stall owner that money would not have been an issue.

"For you my dear, 500." He gave her the smile he had rehearsed so many times to previous customers that seemed to portray a look of 'please help me look after my blind wife' to which, of course, she could not refuse. Gracefully taking out her purse, she started to count the money required while the vendor turned to address another customer.

"This tapestry. I'm offering 700 for it." The young man said confidently as he placed a sack of coins on the counter before the vendor's eyes. They widened, never had someone offered money straight up to him before hearing the price. He however was in a little bit of a predicament. The only problem with this offer was that he had already promised the purchase for the beautiful young lady counting her money out. Still, it was a higher offer.. And in the spirit of his well-kept lie, the man convinced himself that his wife deserved to eat well tonight.

Now this would have been a perfectly executed plan although the petite beauty had placed the money on the counter too. It appeared that this was going to be trickier than anticipated.

At first, the young man did not pay attention to the money placed beside his. After all, there were many tapestries here. Why would he assume that she was going to take his? It was only when she spoke up did he direct his attention towards her.

"Excuse me sir, the 500 for this tapestry?" she asked in her soft, melodic voice. She noted with a raised brow that the salesman had a look of nervousness about him that was not there before.

"500? Excuse me miss, are you talking about this, over here?" the other potential buyer placed a territorial hand over the desired item. "I'm sorry, but I've already paid for it." he said, feeling a little bit bad for her after she pulled a face he assumed to be disappointment.

After the feeling of disappointment had subsided however, she began to think about it. Smiling sweetly at him, "I apologise sir, however I think you'll find that the tapestry, in fact, belongs to me." The dark haired girl knew she had dibs on it. 'First come, first served' Was that not the correct phrase to use at this point in time?

He couldn't understand where she was coming from. "I've already paid for this. Actually, I gave him more money." His tone was calm, the girl clearly just needed the situation explained to her a little.

"I believe I was here first. Am I wrong?" She directed the end of her rebuttal towards the salesman who had hoped he could seep into the background while his two customers sorted out the situation between them. The girl was so beautiful; he could not lie to her face nor let her down. Although his voice escaped him, he nodded.

The charming young man was starting to think he would need to put up a fight for this. "I don't think that's the case anymore. Listen, you can keep your money and find something else to buy. You'll take my money, won't you?" Again, the vendor found himself caught up in the dilemma. Although the pretty young lady was hard to let down, this gentleman was offering him a substantially larger sum of money. Once again, his voice had let him down so he was left to just nod his head dumbly. After all, the look on the face of the man seemed to be challenging him to say no; he was not ready for that kind of challenge.

Pleased with the outcome, the young man was about to pick up the roll of tapestry when he felt the vibration of the lady's hand slapping down on the object. They kept eye contact for a while, silently challenging the other to take another step. Although the girl did not usually act this way in public, when she felt something was right she would stick by it. Something about the person before her did not intimidate her like others had. Maybe it was the way his expression didn't exude a serious, 'I'm-all-business' air the way every other man she met had. On the other side of the tapestry roll, the young man knew he was not going to give up. Yes, he was surprised by the way this girl was treating him; even if he wasn't who he was, no female had ever treated him like this.

The shop keeper watched as they continued their arguments, bickering back and forth. The gentleman seemed to be getting more and more annoyed and so did the lady although, if not for her polite tone and reasonable way of speaking, there would have been a crowd around the dispute. Eventually, the vendor could bare to watch the scene no more. Somewhere, he had found his missing voice.

"No! I can't let my wife's art be mistreated this way. It shall be sold to none of you!" He nearly fell into the earth at the looks he received from the couple before him. He gingerly took the rolled up tapestry away and stepped back. He wanted to cry on the inside however he knew this was the only way to repent for the mistake he had made in trying to be greedy. Then again, there did appear to be a wealthy elder gentleman eyeing up another of his wife's 'miraculous' creations. His guilt quickly dissolved as he trotted off to his new customer, leaving the two lost customers behind him.

Sun Ce was annoyed now. He had really wanted to give the scroll to a close, newly-wed couple as a gift. "Great. None of us have it now."

Also annoyed with the outcome, the young lady looked him in the eye for a second to ponder whether she should even waste her breath. It would have been the perfect gift; she knew her friend would have loved it. Deciding that she didn't need to have the last word to be the better person, she turned on her heel and had just about enough of the town leaving the man to have nothing else to do but burn holes in her back with his eyes.

_Wu Palace_

The two men were sitting in one of the palace's many lounges. It was nearing the end of the day and the sun was setting on the horizon that they could see perfectly out of the large, open sliding door. The orange sky seemed to make everything in the gardens before them turn some variant of the colour which made everything much warmer. A cool breeze would sweep into the room preventing anyone from feeling too uncomfortable. It was almost close to perfect. Almost. There was just something in the atmosphere.

Sun Ce was sulking. His closest friend and sworn brother knew that if he did not ask him what the matter was, he would probably end up doing something he regretted.

"Now, this is just my opinion dear brother.. But you look a little annoyed about something." he said with an amused tone. It wasn't that he wasn't concerned, but Zhou Yu had an inkling the issue wasn't going to be as serious as sit seemed.

Not even hesitating, Sun Ce let it off his chest, "I lost, I never lose!" Of course, Zhou Yu had thought as much. Clearly this was something that only complaining would sort out.

"And may I ask who won this… competition?"

"No one, 'won'" Sun Ce replied with his arms folded in front of him.

Confusion was something that crossed his mind however when he enquired further he would not speak about it. It seemed that the problem was over for now. The handsome strategist amusedly ran a hand through his long hair as he watched his dear friend get up and leave, saying he had to be somewhere.

_The Qiao Residence_

"Da Qiao, you are the eldest daughter in my family. A family that is blessed to have two daughters, famous throughout the land for their divine beauty." begun Qiao Xuan, the proud father of the Qiao sisters.

Although their mother was no longer there to help raise these young girls, her father knew that she would be proud of the way they had blossomed into fine young women. Xiao Qiao, the cute, younger sister was so sweet that it was hard to ever be angry at her; even when she did get herself into trouble. But no matter how much trouble she was in, her elder sister, Da Qiao had always been there to lend a helping hand. The graceful and elegant Da Qiao was always so kind to those around her. In fact, there was never a bad word said about his daughters; he would have it no other way. This is what brought him back to continue the discussion they were having when his two daughters had come home from town. Although he had wanted to enquire within about the annoyed expression on her face, he felt he should let her know what had been on his mind recently.

His daughter merely smiled graciously at the compliment, modestly not fully acknowledging this. "You have come to the age where it is time for you to find a husband. Of course, you should not just have anyone. He should be a man who can look after you, kind hearted and loving."

She had been fully aware that her father had been planning to have her married. Of course it was nothing unusual for a young girl of her age. She also knew that he would not wish for her to be betrothed to someone she did not like. However, whatever it was that she felt, Da Qiao would always place her father's wishes before her own. There was nothing she would hate more than to be a burden.

"Of course father." she nodded. "May I ask where this is leading to?"

Smiling, Qiao Xuan had been looking forward to telling this news to his daughter all day. "As you know the Sun family, leaders of Wu, are very close friends of mine. Although you have never met them before, I know you will get along with each and every member. They are all warm and kind-hearted. Sun Jian and I had always wanted his eldest to marry one of my own children and I now have the pleasure of saying that you will meet his son, Sun Ce today."

She did not really know what to think. Yes, she was happy her father seemed pleased so she was not going to go against his wishes and disagree to meet this Sun Ce. It did not seem like it would be too bad. The son had obviously left a good enough impression on her father and the family were apparently good people.

Da Qiao smiled at Qiao Xuan. "When are we expecting them?" before he could answer however, a maid entered the room to say that Lord Sun Jian and his son had arrived. Before she knew it she was ushered into their lounge room, a room which had already been set up for a meeting: refreshments on a table in the middle and two chairs - apparently it would only be the two of them this time. Feeling rather nervous now and admittedly a little excited to meet her potential husband, she chose the seat facing away from the door.

The leader of Wu and his eldest son walked into the Qiao residence. A maid greeted the two.

"Master Qiao Xuan is in his office, Lord Sun Jian. I have been told to lead Lord Sun Ce to this room.." the maid blushed a little when she caught the young man's eyes, she had not realised the heir of Wu was so handsome. "…to meet Lady Da Qiao." Sun Jian had already been aware of the arrangements. It had been a while since he had visited the Qiao residence, although remembered where to go. He held his hand up, indicating that there was no need for any assistance to be lead to Qiao Xuan's office, although told the maid to let Sun Ce into the room. He patted his son on the back, confident that the two would get on well. With a reassuring smile he left the maid and the boy to head off in his own direction.

The maid shyly looked at Sun Ce once again before allowing him to follow her. "She's just in here, my Lord." Closing the door behind him she sighed, almost jealous that her father had not introduced her to such a good looking man.

The door slid closed behind him and he entered the room. At first, he thought the room was empty. The large sliding door which led to the front garden of the house had a lantern hanging from it which illuminated the terrace in the early evening. He had to scan the room for a while before noting the petite form in the chair. She really did seem beautiful, from behind at least. Her hair was tied up with a simple ornament and two braids hung down either side of her neck, a pale neck that seemed to be flawless.

She heard the door close and it took a while for her to stir. Eventually she got up and turned around. Bowing down in front of him with a smile, she greeted the man "Lord Sun Ce, it is a pleasure to meet you." He bowed down back at her and while they both stood there smiling at each other, they took the time to look at each other. She would be lying if she said she felt no physical attraction towards the man. That in itself, was already a massive understatement. Now that he could see her face, he felt it matched perfectly with the first image he had seen.

They looked each other in the eye curiously after a while however, something not seeming quite right. Had they seen each other before? Why did their faces seem so familiar? Their friendly expressions transitioned from confusion and then realisation. There was an awkward silence as they stood in there places, staring at each other.

"Sorry to disappoint you." he said, breaking the silence. This was definitely a surprise, if not also a blow to his mood too. He took a seat in the other chair on the opposite side. Neither of them were really concealing the fact that they didn't like each other at this point in time. He only smirked, "I can't believe I'm sitting in front of the beautiful flower, Da Qiao, known for her grace and kindness."

She smiled with fake sweetness, "Kind words, my Lord. You do not mean them." The girl walked over to the table and poured her guest a drink. Although she did not like the man, it did not mean that she would need to be so obvious about it under her own roof.

He nodded his head in thanks, and the two were yet again drowned out by the awkward silence. The only things they did seem to do was glare at each other occasionally. Yet again, it was Sun Ce who broke the silence; he never did like it when it was too quiet.

"You don't have to apologise for earlier; I'm sure that's what's on your mind right now." He would clearly not let the issue go. For ages it had bugged his conscience that he had not gotten what he wanted from that trip. Occasions like that were rare, if ever having happened.

She knew the topic would be resurfaced - if not by him, she would have said something sooner or later. Again with her smile and a subtle tone of facetiousness, "Thank you, my Lord, for your understanding and kindness. You really are a generous man."

Why did it feel like he was the one who needed to apologise? She seemed to be talking sweetly to him, but it was evident that she meant the opposite. He huffed in his chair, now not even wanting to bother to continue the argument. Having nothing to say to each other, the two were left with only their thoughts to fill the void. "Where does this girl come off? I really don't like the way she talks. She never seems to feel the same way about the things she says." thought Sun Ce. "It's weird." And also a shame, he had continued in his mind; the girl lived up to the rumour of her beauty well.

He continued the rest of his inner comments out loud. "Actually, you know, I'm glad we met earlier." Da Qiao looked at him, wondering what on Earth he could mean. The young man was clearly not enjoying himself. "If I hadn't then you probably would have put on the illusion that you were some sort of sweet and caring person which, from today, we can clearly see isn't the case."

Shocked at his outburst, Da Qiao instantly interjected his statement "My sentiments are the same. Although my father is an extremely intelligent man, you seem to have managed to fool him into thinking you were great. I however will not fall for it."

The two had had just about enough of each other for the day. In fact, probably a little too much. They simultaneously stood up, not wanting to be in the same room as the other person, and headed over to the door. "Where are you going?" Sun Ce demanded, was she going to follow him?

"To my bedroom, my Lord." She had put on that sweet tone of hers which he knew only he could hear the bitter tone in it. "Why are you following me?"

"You wish." he laughed. "Okay, go to your bedroom. I'm leaving." Sun Ce said as he opened the door and let her walk through. She did so with not even doing so much as sparing him another glance.

Sun Jian and Qiao Xuan, the two good friends, were laughing merrily about how their soon-to-be-related status. Well, that was until one of the maids entered the office with a frantic look on her face. "M-my Lord! Master Qiao Xuan! Sun Ce and Da Qiao had an argument and left the room. Sun Ce is waiting in the carriage." She bowed down and left in an equally unrelaxed manner. The two fathers looked at each other with worried expressions. What were they to do? Their match-up seemed to be crumbling at square one..

* * *

**Ooh.. Sun Ce & Da Qiao hate each other :O**

**Don't worry though! Fun moments & cute development will ensue in later chapters.**

**In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed this and will comment. :3**

**Annie x**


	2. Second Meeting

**This is the second chapter to my story! Yes this update came quite quickly, but I have exams soon so I will be revising a lot.. But then that means by the end of the week chapter 3 will be up!**

**Get ready for an actual moment between the star couple this chapter :3 Enjoy.**

**Second Meeting**

_- "We only part to meet again." [John Gay]_

The meeting between his daughter and Sun Jian's son had gone less than successfully much to the disappointment of the two. Although they felt that even though they seemed to not get along so well, the issue would be fixed with another simple 'get-together'.

"Yes, this is probably just a case of needing to get to know each other." Qiao Xuan had thought to himself in his office. This is why upon finding out that the two had stormed out of the room and away from each other, Sun Jian had invited her to the Wu palace. There, she would get to know his son and they would surely get along better. Qiao Xuan got up from his desk in his office and went about looking for his daughter.

As usual, she had been sitting in the garden with her sister. Looking at the two made him feel as though he was looking at a beautiful painting. Walking towards the two, he could catch part of the conversation they were having which, he had to say, was less than pleasing.

"…yes Xiao Qiao, he was just that bad. This is not even an exaggeration." she caught her father approaching the two of them and immediately hushed up. He had a disapproving look on his face which could have been taken as curiosity, but did not blame his daughter if she did not like someone. Still, he felt he must put some effort into this budding, actually not even budding, relationship. The two girls bowed their heads to their father in respect, acknowledging his presence.

"Da Qiao, Lord Sun Jian has invited you to the Wu palace to meet his son, Sun Ce, again." Qiao Xuan said. Although he had used the word 'invited' his tone implied that she would have no choice in the matter.

Of course, this news did not sound good to Da Qiao's ears. She didn't really have an idea of how to get out of this. Looking at Xiao Qiao for assistance, her younger sister seemed to be drawing blanks. For all her tricky capabilities, Xiao was choosing now not to think of anything. Time was running out and Da Qiao knew she would need to reply soon before there would have been too long a silence.

Hesitating first, stalling for time to make sure the next thing she said made sense the raven-haired girl said "Uhm, but me and Xiao Qiao had already arranged that we would tend to the flowers today.." It was a partial lie she felt. Although it was not something on either of the girls' agendas, it was something that they _could_ have ended up doing.

To her disappointment, her father seemed prepared for some form of refusal. "Xiao Qiao can still tend to the garden. We have many manservants here; they can help your sister."

"But father, we always do it together." Xiao Qiao added, hoping this would help her sister in some way.

"There is not really a choice in the matter girls. Da Qiao, you will get ready and go to the carriage now. Xiao Qiao, you can wait for your sister to return and do the flowers on a different day." He was the head of the house and although he could see his daughter truly did not want to go, the man knew that his friend's son was not a bad person. Whatever had happened between the two would most certainly be fixed this day. At the very least, he was not going to let his daughter give up without even trying.

Although she was desperately trying to think of more ways to get out of the meeting, Da Qiao resigned herself to her fate and sighed in submission. "Yes father." she said with a subtle sulky pout, using her appearance as a last resort to get him to let his daughter stay. Alas, with years of training and experience of this with Xiao Qiao, this tactic would not work with him. He walked away from the two with an 'it'll-be-alright' smile and brief nod so that he could head back to answering letters.

There was no way he was going to see that girl again - especially not after the way she spoke to him last time they had seen each other Sun Ce had decided. However he had found himself walking away from the meeting room his father had been in after finding out he needed to get ready to meet the Qiao Beauty again. Why should he put himself through that?

"Screw it." he said to himself. He was right. He wasn't going to see her. Instead of going to the room where he would have met that crazy woman, he made a detour out of the palace. One of the guards who saw him leaving told a manservant to pass the information on. Of course, being the heir to Wu, none of them were going to stop him leaving. After all, they had not even been told that he was required to stay in.

Already in the carriage and headed on her way to the palace, Da Qiao wondered why she could not even have the company of Xiao Qiao on the journey. Although they could get to the palace by carriage, it was still a fairly long journey. Still, the solitude would allow her time to think. But maybe thinking would not help her to feel any better. Knowing that no one would be there to watch her, Da Qiao put her feet up on the chair opposite and got into a comfier position and decided it was silly to feel sorry for herself.

"We will be there shortly ma'am" the carriage driver spoke up after a while. Da Qiao knew she was entering the home of a demon. Actually no, not a demon. Demons were scary; scared was the furthest feeling she felt when she was around Sun Ce. But this did not mean she felt good either.

He had been wandering around the forest for a while now; it felt good to be out of the palace though. A while ago he had seen a carriage travelling along the track - it was probably that Da Qiao. He wondered, with annoyance, why the Qiao sister was still being suggested to him as a bride. Did his father not realise that the two of them did not like each other? Qiao Xuan must have been a very good friend of the family for his father to want his own son to marry his daughter. A feeling of curiosity swept over him as he looked back on his path, wondering how long it would take for him to get back to the palace. In the end, he decided against it. "No. Let her wait."

His wish seemed to come true. Da Qiao had arrived at the palace, having actually made an effort to look presentable in a red dress with subtle, blue floral patterns lining it. Her hair, although only hanging down past her shoulders had a golden flower pin in it which seemed to complete her look. She was lead into a room which seemed to be in a similar set up to the one that had been in her own house (although, it had to be noted that this was definitely much grander than the modest Qiao residence) with two seats either side a table. It was Sun Jian who had come with her and was keeping her company at that moment.

"I apologise, my son is not here at the moment. He went out this morning for a walk and has not returned yet. I assure you he will be back soon though." he had explained to her. She smiled and said it was fine. Her father had been right with one thing: it seemed that Lord Sun Jian was an excellent man. He was not rude like his eldest, Sun Ce. She was sure Sun Ce was probably the only one tarnishing the Sun family's reputation. They continued to chat for a long time and there had still been no sign of his son.

Eventually there was a sound at the door behind them and Sun Jian's face looked hopeful - perhaps his son had returned? No, it was merely a maid who had come in to say that he had a visitor of his own to see to. Getting up and promising that his son would be there soon, Da Qiao was left alone in the room with nothing but the faint sound of a wind chime twinkling as it hung from the large window beside her. Once again, she was allowed to be left with her own thoughts.

For what seemed like hours Da Qiao sat in her chair, feeling sillier and sillier at each passing second. Was she being had? Looking out the window, the sun even appeared to be setting. This was quite enough. Surely her sister and father would be worrying about her by now. She considered the thought of leaving the palace, wondering whether she should let Lord Sun Jian know or whether she should just escape some how. In the end, she thought it best to just sneak out. After all, it would be a lot easier to come back and apologise rather than have to deal with telling the powerful man that she was not willing to wait for his son.

Walking gingerly up to the door, Da Qiao pressed her head against it only to find that there was silence. She had thought this was odd and so decided to take a peek. Opening it slightly, she poked her head out only to find that there was not even anyone outside. Perhaps leaving the Wu palace was going to be easier than she had anticipated. Acting casual was probably the best way to go about things so that is what she did; the young lady seemed to slip through the many halls unnoticed. It wasn't until she reached the main door of the palace that she realised her carriage was nowhere to be found. In fact, little to her knowledge, Sun Jian had sent it back in the hopes that his son was going to arrive soon. Perhaps, to make up for the wasted time, he could take the beautiful Qiao home and allow the two more bonding time. Deciding that requesting for a carriage would risk her getting caught. In fact, after sneaking out, it might even have seemed cheeky to ask for one.

The next twenty seconds of her life probably involved the riskiest thing she had ever done. The girl who usually stuck to the rules made a mad dash to the gate and managed to go unnoticed by the guard as she sneaked past. Da Qiao reckoned it was due to her small height that she was so lucky. She continued to run for a while, feeling safer if she made some distance from the place.

He had been out for ages, with not really any aim in mind but to just avoid home. Eventually he decided that whether or not that Da Qiao was back, he would just head back. Anyway, any time they did have left together would be short he was sure. He felt rather pleased with himself. She probably had to sit in that room for hours by herself, waiting like a.. He tried to think of a good word to use.. "Like some sort of potted plant.." It didn't sound that catchy in the end, but it seemed to fit. A potted plant had to stay rooted to the spot just looking pretty, couldn't move until someone did it for them. His thoughts were interrupted when his battle senses felt the presence of someone else.

"What if it were to start raining.." the young girl thought as she looked to the sky. Were those clouds forecasting rain? She wasn't able to tell.. And speaking of that, she really hoped the path she had been taking was leading her home. Da Qiao also heard someone near. She looked around while wondering if it had just been her imagination when a familiar face came out of the foliage, Sun Ce. Their faces seemed to mirror each other at first. The other was definitely the last person who they assumed the presence to be. However somewhere in her expression of surprise, something in her seemed to click and she understood why he was out here.

She supposed she could not blame the man. After all, she had not been thrilled to go to the palace either. "Lord Sun Ce, I'm sorry I could not see you at the palace today.." All she did was say this with a small bow of her head and then give him a small smile as a sort of 'okay, I don't really care anyway.." and continued on her way. At this point in time, she wasn't really in the mood to have any arguments with him. Anyway, it was probably going to take her a few hours to get home if she walked quickly.

He noted that she liked to just walk away from him; it was annoying to say the least. Actually normally it would have annoyed him, but today he felt a little sheepish. Like he had, well not really 'like', been caught in the act. Sun Ce watched her walk on her way. It was at this point that he was frustrated with himself for noting how small and fragile she suddenly appeared to be. Was it his fault that she was walking the distance to her house? Something in him was tugging at his conscience. Tugging on it to apologise. He shook his head - he would not.

"Where's your carriage?" he called to her.

Turning around on the spot, worn out from the day she had had and shook her head. "I don't know. I expect it was sent home.." At first she believed that the carriage had merely been stored somewhere she did not know how to get to. But by now the small girl was sure that the Wu palace was aware of her departure. If her carriage had still been there, then it would already have caught up with her for certain.

"Pops made you walk home?" he asked. This did not seem like something he would do. Had she said something to offend him maybe? Her situation was getting more curious by the sentence.

Once again shaking her head, Da Qiao smiled a little sheepishly. "I'm afraid he was not aware of me leaving…"

"So you escaped the palace." It hadn't really been a question, just something to confirm. Well, he had to give her credit for having the courage to do that. But still, it was still a weird situation to have placed herself in. Again the feeling that he had a part to play in this still lingered.. Before he knew it she had headed off in her direction again.

"Wait up" he called after her. The girl stopped and looked back, a little surprised.

"I won't tell anyone that you decided hide from me out here in the forest." Da Qiao said with that smile of hers. The comment stabbed at his pride. She seemed to have the uncanny ability to not care about stepping on his feelings.

He shook the statement off with a shake of the head, and tried to maintain his pride. "No, no. I wasn't going to say that." Although now that she mentioned it, it would've been a big favour if she didn't. "I'll take you home. Take it as an apology for me not being there." This was the excuse he was using, and although there was truth behind these words, but the real reason he did not want to admit was that he would not be able to sleep if knew she would be walking through this place in the dark. Who knew what would pop up here and there. Not to mention this was a defenceless little lady they were talking about.

"No thank you. I can get home just fine by myself." she said not stopping anymore to talk and continuing her route. She was surprisingly stubborn towards him. He noted that she acted fairly docile towards everyone around her, apparently he was the exception to this. And no, that didn't make him feel any better.

"Don't be stupid, woman. Do you even know what's out here? Wild animals? Bandits?" he couldn't believe she was actually deciding against his company. The majority of ladies would rather have his company than walk through a forest by themselves.

"Oh. That had not crossed my mind."

"Really?" Sun Ce was shocked at her naivety, and didn't want to know what she would have done to defend herself if something did happen. However it didn't sound like she was refusing his company now. He chose not to remind himself that she hadn't exactly said she wanted his company either. "What were you planning to do if something happened then?" he asked, almost telling her off.

She was quiet for a little bit, clearly embarrassed at being caught out on this. Why was he telling her off? Well, if he hadn't left her by herself in the palace then she wouldn't find herself walking. "I would have blamed you, my Lord." she replied with an amused tone that balanced out the annoyed tone of the young man beside her.

He smirked, again she had managed to one-up him in the words department however he felt he held a small victory over her having clearly pointed out the hole in her little plan. This victory was short lived though and an uncomfortable silence settled between the two and Da Qiao and Sun Ce continued walking. The only thing that interrupted this silence was the pitter patter of falling raindrops after a while.

Da Qiao looked up and guessed it was predictable that this would happen. How could it get any worse? That was when the thunder boomed above them and she jumped up, startled. It was awful. She hated thunder and now she'd have to walk through it. Her little scare hadn't gone unnoticed by Sun Ce who cocked an eyebrow up.

"You're afraid of thunder?" There was no reply to this which only confirmed it. He chuckled, "You are, aren't you!"

"I think you will find that you are incorrect. Of course I'm not afraid." she retorted. Instead of saying it in her normal, relaxed tone this had actually snapped out to which Sun Ce only laughed at. Although fear of thunder was quite a common thing he supposed, he had never met anyone who actually had this phobia. On the next clap of thunder she didn't jump although it was noted that her pace had quickened. Sun Ce wasn't going to let this go.

"You know for someone who's not afraid of thunder, I gotta say.. You're walking a lot quicker.." he smirked.

Her heart was beating quicker in her chest although she found it somewhere within herself to speak up and have the last word, "Yes my Lord, that was an excellent observation." Another thunder clap sounded and she jumped again with a quiet squeal she hoped only she had heard. Before he could make fun of her again, Da Qiao resigned to admitting the truth, "Okay, yes I will admit I am a little frightened of the thunder. We're only lucky that there isn't any li-lighting!" There was a flash in the sky which caused the girl to look down. She really didn't know how to explain her fear of this naturally occurring phenomenon, but it was just something that scared her. Actually it wasn't so much the 'thunder and lightning' she was scared of, more the flash and the booms that came with them. She decided this didn't make her reasoning any better so would not verbalise these passing thoughts. Still, silly thoughts filling her mind was better than the silence making the light and thunder claps the focal point of her conscience.

Somehow the rain seemed to subside though, and she somehow felt warmer. Why could she still see the water falling down hard now then? Could it possibly have been dripping off the foliage around them? Actually no, it was more that now she could not _feel_ the rain anymore and the warmth seemed to radiate from the man beside her.

So he would admit that he found her fear of thunder a little amusing at first; it had seemed like such a childish thing to be afraid of though. It was only when he could see that she was _really afraid_ of the thunder that he couldn't let her continue without being comforted. He was not the kind of person to make this sort of gesture - not even for his little sister - so he felt she had better appreciate him doing this. Seeming to be focusing most of his attention on the road ahead of them, mostly due to his shyness, in one swift motion Sun Ce lifted his mantle over Da Qiao and pulled her closer to him to shield her from the rain and maybe make her feel better about the thunder and lightning around them.

"You don't have to be scared." he had told her simply.

It was an extremely kind gesture that she was very thankful for. She gazed up at him to see if she could see what he was thinking. No, she couldn't. He tore his eyes away from the road for a while, seeming to check up on her, or something along those lines, and both their eyes met. It was odd. Although they had caught each other staring at each other, they wouldn't look away.. Not even to blink. Eventually one of them did and their heads shot around. Sun Ce back to facing the road, and Da Qiao back down to her feet. It was a good thing she had been under his mantle, it would hide the mystery blush she could not quite explain at the moment. Likewise Sun Ce, who rarely reddened in the face, had a slight tint of rouge to his cheeks at that moment. For the rest of the journey to the Qiao residence they stayed like this, in at least a more comfortable silence.

Eventually the two did reach Da Qiao's home. It felt very late and there was no telling what hour of the night it was however the rain had fortunately subsided. Qiao Xuan came out, having obviously been very worried about his daughter. "Oh my child, where have you been?"

"The carriage had been sent home earlier than expected.. But luckily I was in the mood for a walk. I am alright father, Lord Sun Ce had accompanied me."

Qiao Xuan looked at the two with a more relaxed expression, glad that the two seemed to be getting along somewhat better. "So, how did things go today?" he asked the two, curious as to see what the status of their friendship was now.

"There was a delay, but we eventually saw each other in the end. Actually father," Da Qiao began, looking at the person next to her with a raised brow and a smile that Sun Ce knew meant trouble "I was under the impression that my Lord did not even wish to see me today." With that she headed back to the house.

Sun Ce smirked, no longer impressed with her subtle way of making fun of him that meant only he knew she was doing it. Bidding farewell to Qiao Xuan and wishing him a good night, the young man turned round so that he could head on his way home. The father of the Qiaos however could not help but notice that this young man was dripping wet from the rain and had even come all the way from the Wu palace (as far as he knew) to bring his daughter back safely to him. The least he could do in return was let him stay the night.

"Lord Sun Ce!" he called back. To this, the young man turned around. "I cannot let you go, stay the night in our guest room."

"Oh no, it's fine. Really, you don't have to do that for me." Although the offer was tempting, Sun Ce did not want to wake up in the morning and open himself to the possibility of experiencing an awkward breakfast with Da Qiao. Yes they had so far only had one moment where they seemed to be getting on and this was not enough to convince the heir of Wu that they were on friendly terms just yet.

"Nonsense my child. Come in and let the maids take care of you." Qiao Xuan insisted "I would never forgive myself if you caught a cold."

Although Sun Ce tried to politely decline the offer, it seemed he would not win the argument. Before he knew it, he was passing out in the comfy bed of the Qiao residence guest house..

**End of chapter 2^^**

**See? I told you there would be a moment. Thanks for my first review, that made me really happy.. Anyway, please keep them coming - I would really like to know what you think :3**

**I think I may not be able to post the next chapter until the end of the week.. So I'll leave you with this to think about until then: it's going to get pretty steamy ~~ **

**Annie x**


	3. Good Morning

**Hello everyone! Back with chapter 3^^**

**I have to apologise for the lateness in this update ;s I know I said I'd have it up by the end of the week but even though exams ended.. I ended up getting distracted. Sorry!**

**Anyway, to put a long story short, this also took even more time since the first draft of this was about to be submitted when I decided that I didn't like it and changed a big chunk of it - it was far too cringey (or just too corny maybe) in my opinion..**

**SPEAKING OF CRINGEY.. Ah. I'm so embarrassed that my 'hint' for this chapter was: "things get steamy" / HAHA. Wow. Guys, don't let me do that again..**

**Anyway, please enjoy the third instalment of this Da Qiao/Sun Ce fanfic & of course, thank you so much for the positive reviews. I will try hard to make the next update sooner :3 In the mean time, I would still love hearing from you guys!**

**Good Morning**

**_- "The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate." [Douglas Engelbart]_  
**

Her eyes opened as sunlight leaked into the room. She felt extremely tired; perhaps she was on the brink of catching a cold. The delicate young lady hoped this would not be the case. Other than the fact that she'd feel terrible, it would just be a major inconvenience. However rather than guess at the current status of her health, Da Qiao inhaled deeply through her nose. Luckily, air passed freely through with no hint of trouble. She supposed the minor head ache she was experiencing was due to not having enough sleep.

Shifting her body up against the head board of the large bed, she looked around the room as she collected her thoughts. This time of day always seemed something like a reflection period to her. It felt important to think about what she wanted to do, what she felt like doing, about her friends and family, and even about the day before…

As her thoughts shifted onto this, her eyes caught something which set the neat and tidy ambience of her room off. Scrutinising the object further she remembered all too well about the previous day.

_It felt like a hug. The kind of comforting hug a mother gives her child when scared. The kind of hug that made her feel that everything would be okay; nothing could go wrong. It was a kind of warmth that felt like she would freeze to death if it was taken away suddenly._

_The rest of the walk was concluded in silence, but there were so many things buzzing through her head. It felt silly as well because she barely knew the man. Although they had made eye contact for a brief moment, she felt as though she had stared right into his very core. It was like she was really seeing 'Sun Ce' for the first time. Any previous opinion she had of him seemed to have fizzled away.. _

She let out a sigh unknowingly and then felt stupid for doing so. Although, she had to admit, she supposed even someone like that man could act like a prince charming every now and then. Smiling at this thought for a little while, her slender legs crossed on her bed, her expression changed as remembered the whole of yesterday.

"Hold on. What am I thinking? That.. That man hadn't even wanted to see me in the first place!" she thought aloud to herself.

Now that she did think about it, that nice gentlemanly act that she witnessed yesterday was but a snippet of the day she had had. It could not be forgotten that Lord Sun Ce had in fact_ abandoned _her to go off and, do what exactly? Well it didn't matter too much anyway; it wasn't like she cared. However she could not believe the audacity he had to leave a young lady such as herself all by herself in one of the many rooms in the Wu palace for so long. Looking back on that little fiasco, Da Qiao realised that she would have to return to apologise for her awful behaviour. She buried her face in her hands, wondering how she was going to face the _leader_ of Wu.

"How will I face Lord Sun Jian?" she groaned into her palms, not liking the sense of frustration she was feeling so early in the morning. It definitely could not have been healthy.

Nevertheless, the day had to go on. Whether she was feeling a little bit anxious about actually being in a situation where she had to apologise to the leader of a kingdom or not, the day had to continue. With this in mind, she knew that there was a bath waiting for her right now.

x x x x

He must not have realised how exhausted he had been. In fact, after the maids had shown him to the luxurious guest bedroom of the Qiao residence, he had murmured something along the lines of leaving him alone and the next moment he had opened his eyes it was bright as day outside and he had not even gotten out of the clothes which were still somewhat damp from the previous night's little.. 'adventure'. Alas, now he had found that the maids had prepared a rather relaxing bath for him and he was enjoying the soothing experience of the warm water surrounding his body.

While he was enjoying the therapeutic scents of the bath oils and the way the steam in the room seemed to make everything seem all that more private, the young lord could not help but let his mind wonder about the main reason why he needed to be comforted this much, well at least in his opinion, in the first place. The current situation felt certainly less than inconvenient to his schedule, although he had to admit that postponing the inevitable scolding he would receive from his father was something he would gladly do.

Breathing out heavily and splashing his face with water, Sun Ce couldn't help but smile at recent events that had occurred. He definitely had to admit that the girl had a lot of guts to just leave the palace like that. Heck other girls in the kingdom would probably have stayed sitting there for three days straight, if he stayed away for that long. Then again, this only reminded the young man that Da Qiao did not seem to show him the same mannerisms that she provided everyone else with. While he had seen her politely speak to the vendor on the first day they met even though it had been that guy who had gotten them in that situation, the most he ever got was simply a snide comment masked with some kind of innocent tone that fooled everyone around them. But not him, no… He was on to that woman's little act.

Then again, he did have to correct himself on this one. Snide comments hadn't been _the most_ he'd received from the young lady. Actually, he couldn't help but recall how she had acted when he shielded her from the rain. For a while she had been almost pleasant and, dare he think it, but maybe sort of.. Cute? There was just something in the way she had looked at him from under his cloak and the way the silence afterwards did not seem to carry the same awkwardness it had before.

The rest of the morning hygiene routine seemed to go on without any complications although it was when he got out of the bath with a bathrobe loosely hanging off of him he realised that the clothes he had gotten out of had not dried yet. Frowning, he was not too sure what to do about this. Of course in times of battle, putting on rain-dampened clothes would not have bothered him.. But as a guest of a house, he felt silly. For a while, he wondered whether he should just hang his clothes out over the window for a while and waited for them to dry. On the other hand, he decided against it since that would just take too much time. Would it be too strange to walk around in a silk bathing robe?

In the end, fate decided for him. As if on cue, the door to the room opened and a curious Sun Ce wondered who it could have been that entered the guest house so rudely.

x x x x

She had not even had breakfast yet and she was already being given a chore to do. It wasn't the fact that she was being given a chore, the only problem Da Qiao felt there was was that the chore which seemed to be rather a minor task was being treated as though it was of great priority.

Da Qiao had been heading towards the dining room to attend breakfast with her family when she saw her father talking to a maid with a basket in her hands. The attention of Qiao Xuan seemed to be caught by his daughter and he beckoned her over.

"Da Qiao, Da Qiao! Come over here, my child."

Smiling at her father, she did as she was told and walked over to him. "Good morning father."

"Here, take this basket. Mei Ling has something to attend to." He begun as he motioned for the maid to give the basket to Da Qiao. Of course she took it, no questions asked, but did wonder why she was holding it. Peering inside, there just seemed to be garments in it. Cocking an eyebrow up, she looked up at her father and waited for she assumed that he had something else to say. "This basket needs to go to the guest house. Please take it there now."

There was an expression on his face that gave the raven-haired girl the idea that this was something that could not wait for some reason. Why he wanted a basket of clothes to be brought to the guest house was beyond her, but she could only assume that there was perhaps a guest coming to stay that evening. Then again, her and Xiao Qiao would have been told earlier to prepare for a guest. Still, a menial task such as the one she had received was not too hard for her to do and she soon found herself nearing the sliding door of the guest house near the main house.

"What is father up to this time…" she simply murmured quietly to herself as she slid the door open. She ventured into the room that she felt she had not seen for a while, after all she didn't really find it necessary to enter the guest house seeing as she did live in the actual house. Taking the time to look around on the spot, she looked at the beautiful paintings and tapestries on the walls, the brilliant architecture, the man dressed in the bath robe, the interesting architecture and… Da Qiao literally had to do a double take. Had she really seen someone? Taking in the bigger picture she noted that the bed had been ruffled up, clearly someone had been sleeping there; she had been asked to take clothes to the guest room, obviously for this person standing in front of her.

A terrible inkling crept up on her as her morning mind realised something with a groan.

"Good morning to you too, Lady Da Qiao…"

"Lord Sun Ce." She nodded her head curtly. Although she had not seen the lopsided grin he had on, the elder Qiao just knew he was displaying it; she could feel it in his tone of voice. Looking at him with a hint of confusion she couldn't help but express with her face, she had to say. "I did not expect you to be here. Although I probably should have guessed what with the clothes I was asked to bring." The latter of her statement was more for herself as the understanding sunk in somewhat. She snapped out of her reverie to remember why she had come to the guest house in the first place. "Oh! These are for you, I suppose." She held out the basket of clothes at arms length, feeling silly for being embarrassed as she noted the man before her appeared to be only wearing a bath robe.

Of course this embarrassment did not go unnoticed by the heir to Wu kingdom. He smirked, always quick to catch on to these types of things, and felt suddenly compelled to tease the girl about this. "Sneaking a peek then, are we?" His teasing continued as he mocked bashfulness. "Da Qiao.. But we've known each other for only a short while.."

The provocation to get her to fight back had clearly worked as the young girl's doll-like face blushed a little more than she had before. Obviously, any form of gentlemanly behaviour from previous events was clearly a fluke. No, she would not let him win this argument over her, so she countered his little act with one of her own.

"But, My Lord, maybe it was you who planned this. Did you wish it so that I would come over with the clothes myself?" She already had the blush, so she had just added a rather convincing timid expression.

Maybe her little act had worked, although he wouldn't admit this to himself. Any embarrassment felt was momentary as he soon realised what she was doing. His jokey bashful behaviour changed and he now had a look which definitely meant trouble. Da Qiao's eyebrow cocked up with curiosity, and was suddenly shocked as although Sun Ce looked as though he was going to reach for the basket he firmly, but with a somewhat gently touch of his masculine hands, pulled her close and leaned in.

"You caught me." He held her there as she wondered what to do for a while with a fair amount of panic. What was he going to do - kiss her? Her head seemed to automatically shy away from him as he got closer only to stop as his devilish grin turned into a soft chuckle. Her blush went up a notch tenfold as she realised what had just happened. Shoving his hand away she stormed back to the sliding door, fairly humiliated as she could hear his laughter behind her.

No. She wouldn't allow him this victory. Turning on her heel, just to salvage what pride she had left from the brief encounter, she said "There is breakfast at the dining room, Little Conqueror." The use of his nickname seemed to catch his curiosity for a second and she took this time to allow her eyes to scan his body so that the desired effect of her next line would be produced. "There must be some reasoning as to how you got that nickname." She finished with a smug grin which she could only make look like a fallen angel's smile. Before anything else could be said, the door was closed and the young Sun Ce was left to feel like he somewhat deserved the last comeback. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he sighed and looked at the clothes he had been provided with.

x x x x

She nibbled on her fruit salad as she watched her sister eat her own, noting as she looked around from time to time as though she expected something to happen any moment.. The girl could not help but feel a little worried. Sure she was supposed to be the unobservant and slow one, but it really wouldn't have taken a genius to see that, as of late, Da Qiao did not seem to be feeling at the top of her game. In fact, her usually calm and collected sister looked a little frazzled. Was that the right word to be using? Perhaps, just a tad worn out. Well, however her sister's emotional state seemed to appear, it obviously wasn't good.

Yet what was this feeling within? For some reason, and she certainly felt bad for admitting this to herself, but she found it all so amusing. Her dearest father had already told his youngest daughter of his and the leader of Wu's plans for their eldest children to be wed. Certainly no one had expected it to be this difficult. Naturally, back up had to be called in; this backup came in the form of the one and only, sweet Xiao Qiao.

Her decision to partake in this match up was not extremely recent either. The sisters had their connections, and to say that the little Qiao had a few reliable sources updating her on the activities that ensued within the palace and around Sun Ce was an understatement. Of course, finding out anything to do with her sister did not require any spy work; all she needed to do was ask her herself. Speaking of inside sources, the girl had found that a letter was now placed before her as a maid handed out mail to everyone around the table. The girl smiled as the subject of what she held in her hand was the very thing she had just been thinking about. Catching a curious look from her sister across the table, Xiao Qiao was beginning to wonder whether it seemed too suspicious that she had been receiving so much mail lately.

The girl had been about to make something up about how a friend who lived quite far away was doing when a slightly awkward looking Sun Ce waltzed into the room, trying his hardest to appear non-chalant as he also obviously avoided eye contact with her uncharacteristically uneasy sister.

At this point in time, Qiao Xuan had also stepped into the room with the usual cheerful ambience surrounding him.

"Good morning my daughters! Ah, Sun Ce, I see you are wearing the clothes we got for you. Are they alright? Were you comfortable last night?" Before the young man could answer, the head of the household was off again. "It was really an honour to have the _heir of Wu _in our household" Da Qiao looked sceptical as her father seemed to direct that title in her direction with raised eyebrows "That guest room will always be open for you or your family!"

"Thank you Qiao Xuan, although the family of Wu is quite large; we wouldn't want to cause any impositions."

Ignoring the scoff that came from the direction of Da Qiao, and the giggle from Xiao Qiao as a reaction to her sister's obvious opinion of this idea, Qiao Xuan continued on the conversation with a smile.

For quite a while, Qiao Xuan was the one who was making idle conversation asking about how the family was doing and what he was planning to do. Xiao Qiao would pipe up here and there with her own statements and the clearly moody Da Qiao remained silent for most of the time, only producing answers as simple as possible when asked a question.

However this was short lived as a maid entered with a bow reminding Qiao Xuan of some matters he'd had to take care of. Nodding his head at the maid, he smiled at the young people before him and rose with a bow of his head.

"Well, I must be off to deal with my own affairs. Sun Ce, once again, it really was a pleasure to have you here. When you wish to leave, Da Qiao will call the carriage for you. By the way, you do not need to worry about any trouble with your father; a late-night messenger was sent back and forth informing Sun Jian of what was going on. He's perfectly fine with everything."

With that all said and done, the elder gentleman left the room and a silence settled over the three. The only thing that could be heard was the gentle clatter of cutlery on the chinaware as they ate their meals. Every now and then, the adorable Xiao Qiao would inhale as though she wanted to say something. Of course the other two would look up straight away at the idea of some sort of distraction to the awkwardness, but then the youngest of the trio would then shut her cherry lips as she realised she had nothing to say.

After a while, the tension in the room had apparently become too much for Da Qiao. She wasn't obliged to stay in the room, was she? She was under her own roof; there was nothing to stop her from leaving. Being as pleasant as she could to a man who apparently mirrored her feelings towards the other, her slender hand rested the fork horizontally over her plate.

"Lord Sun Ce. I will call the carriage for you now; when you wish to leave, it will be waiting outside for you." she finished with a nod and went off to go about this.

Sun Ce couldn't help but watch her walk away. The way she spoke so diplomatically to him in public after they had had a little spat in the guest house really confused him. Sure she was acting pleasant enough, but it sort of freaked him out how the girl could put on this façade.

"Don't worry about her." Xiao Qiao's high, melodic voice made him turn his head away from the door. "I'm sure she likes you, you just need to give her a chance. Sis really isn't a bad person at all." the young girl said with an energetic smile.

The younger Qiao appeared to be the complete opposite of her sister. Well, sure, they had their similarities.. But this sister just seemed so carefree from the way she chose to wear mandarin coloured shorts as opposed to what other girls her age and background wore. Not only that, she seemed way easier to approach than Da Qiao. Now why couldn't that girl be like this? Everything would have been fine if this was the case.

Finding himself relaxing around her, he replied honestly with a scoff, "I'm not worried at all." He caught an amused grin playing off the girl's face. "What?"

"You sound exactly like her…" she said with a little giggle. "Oh Lord Sun Ce, I'm sure, if at the very least, you two will become the best of friends in the future. This is the first time I've ever seen someone manage to break my sister out of her shell of courtesies and organisation." As though she had somehow realised something.. "Yes. This is healthy for her."

Sun Ce raised an eyebrow up at this sister. Well, she may have been easier to talk to, but she was certainly some kind of weird. Xiao Qiao had decided to leave it at that and with a playful curtsey and bow of her head, she skipped off to find something to do.

The man sighed and got up from his chair, feeling silly for being alone in the room. What kind of hospitality was this anyway? Well, there was no point in hanging around the place any longer. If what Da Qiao had said was true, then a carriage to his palace should have been waiting for him already. Plus, now that there was no danger in his father scolding him for his previous actions he decided that the sooner he could get out of this place, the better.

He hoped his father's marriage prospect wouldn't appear in his life again, at least for a little while anyway.

x x x x

Up from her bedroom, she could see him entering his carriage. Finally, she had thought he would never leave.. Although she wanted to go read a book, her eyes made her stay sat on the window seat and watch as the carriage disappeared out of sight - just making sure he was actually gone.

**Once again, I'm so sorry for this late update. Next time I say something will be up in a week's time - it ****will be up in a week's time**** haha..**

**Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? I know the story doesn't seem to be getting anywhere, but trust me it WILL! **

**Thank you so much for all the supportive reviews ^^ It's nice to know some people have been reading! **

**Annie x**


	4. A New Light

**Hello all. I'm really sorry for not updating soon.. T^T Ahh.. I'm just going to stop making promises I can't keep.**

**Anyway. As I have been gone for a very long time, I felt like making Da Qiao & Sun Ce have a little time apart also - just seemed right :3 **

**Hope you have a nice time reading this instalment. NOT making any promises about the next update this time... But I do hope I update soon enough also ==**

**As always, I will always appreciate your feedback in the comments.**

**Thank you all who still care about this fanfic. T^T**

* * *

**A New Light**

_- "To see the best before I have properly begun would be somewhat premature." [Kazuo Ishiguro]_

The maids of the Qiao residence looked on in amusement as the two young ladies of the house seemed to be participating in some form of role reversal for the day.

"Sis, come on! Don't be difficult!" whined the younger sister as she pulled on the arm of the elder Qiao in an attempt to drag her into the carriage.

"Xiao, there is nothing for me over there. I refuse! Let go of me!" the older sister retorted.

"No!"

"No?" she repeated incredulously? "Well I say yes! Xiao Qiao, I can't go!" She understood that she was being immature. She understood that her father had warned her of this engagement a few days earlier. She understood that there really was no choice in the matter. Still, it didn't mean that she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Da Qiao! I'll tell on you!"

"Do it then!"

"Really? Don't think I won't!"

"I don't care!"

The argument was childish and silly. It seemed as though the conversation had hit a dry wall as apparently neither side would back down in the foreseeable future. Naturally the maids' and menservants' amusement was heightened, but eventually they hushed up as the man of the house caused them to part and bow in his presence. They looked sheepish and were suddenly very busy with pruning the plants and flowers in the vicinity.

"Da Qiao, are you having trouble getting into the carriage?" Qiao Xuan asked with an amused smile. While his tone was light, the girls desisted with their bickering to converse with their father. Before his daughter had the chance to come up with a smart answer, he held up his hand. "Now, now my child, I understand you and Lord Sun Ce have had your… Ups and downs… But this is a special event that is held every year by the Sun family. It is a great honour that we have even been put on the guest list. After running out on Sun Jian last time, do you really think it wise to refuse his invitation?" Of course, the man knew that his dear friend did not care in the slightest about the palace mishap, it was more that the man of the house knew how his daughter's mind worked. Giving a knowing smile and nod to his younger daughter who was still holding on to her sister's arm, she let go and sat herself down in the carriage. Da Qiao knew that there really was no way out of going and so obediently entered and sat down after.

"Yes Father, I understand. I apologise for being so difficult," the older Qiao said. Her head was bowed down in shame; how could she behave so childishly?

As usual, Qiao Xuan merely chuckled. "You have nothing to apologise for, my treasure. You are simply young and headstrong… Just like your mother." The small family smiled in silence at the thought of the woman who would have completed the picture. "Now. Go. Have fun at the party, and I only want to hear joyful stories when you return." Qiao Xuan closed the door of the carriage and waved as it rode out of the estate. Even after it left, the man smiled as memories of his wife somehow found their way back to him. His girls were growing up so much and each day they reminded him more and more of the love of his life. While it made him extremely sad to think that she was gone, the light in his daughters' eyes reminded him that a piece of her would always be with him in them…

x x x x

The Wu Palace had been decorated brilliantly with banners of red and gold. Fifty servants, each holding delicious platters of delicacies from all over the country, circulated the important figures that were the guests of the evening. A live orchestra, playing popular music at the time, set the bubbly mood of the banquet hall. Certainly, there were many smiling faces at this event. After all, this celebration only came once a year: The Tiger Banquet. Quite honestly, there was no real reason for the original Tiger Banquet. Sun Jian had simply needed an excuse to throw a brilliant party. Ever since the first party had gone down so successfully, it seemed as though a tradition of sorts had been born.

At this point in time, he was not comfortable about being at the celebration. Not at all. Especially not now, since he had just happened to glance over the guest list that morning. The Little Conqueror wasn't ready to deal with the snobbish woman. Not only that, but he wondered whether it would be awkward to meet her again. After all, it had been two months since the two last met; the reason for this was partially planned, partially by accident - but mostly planned…

You see, at first another meeting had been set up only a few days after he had stayed over. However, annoyingly, that woman had cancelled with the very lame excuse of some kind of fatigue related illness. The most annoying part of that incident had to be the fact that he had been forced to make up a menu for the lunch meeting so that he would feel, somehow, 'more involved' with the process. Out of pure annoyance at her cancellation, he made his own last minute cancellation on the next arrangement. After that, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had been entrusted with a special mission and were gone for a few weeks. To celebrate his return, Da Qiao and some other friends were invited for dinner. She unwillingly came along, insisting that her younger sister (who had no problem accepting) join her. Although on this occasion, the two did not meet because Sun Ce was thrown off of his horse and suffered a concussion. It hadn't been a serious injury, although he had to rest early so the return was delayed by a whole day. Naturally, the young lady that had taken the journey to see him felt quite stood up… Again.

So maybe yes, their little reunion at this festive occasion was going to be a little bit awkward.

"Well, I wouldn't worry so much Sun Ce. Just have fun, enjoy yourself." reassured his best friend, Zhou Yu. "Remember, you have other things to worry about tonight. Don't preoccupy yourself so much with thoughts of your lady…" The last part was said a little teasingly, and he dodged Sun Ce's half-hearted attempt at giving him a dead arm.

"Yeah, yeah…" Sun Ce had also been told that morning that he was to pay particular attention to a German diplomat… The man and his family had sailed in from so far in the west; his mother had told him that the man's wife was actually Chinese. The family was very apparently very excited to find out about the mother's heritage. Apart from that, he had been told that treating these guests hospitably would result in better relations with the west which, especially in the uncertain times the kingdom was facing at the moment, would not hurt at all.

A thought that had been on both of their minds was voiced by Zhou Yu. "Westerners… I wonder if there will be a huge cultural clash between us."

"Well, let's just hope there isn't. Besides, I reckon it won't be so hard. They're interested in the sights the kingdom has to offer? Who better to show them than us!"

The two young men continued their conversation, laughing as their pirate friend Gan Ning joined in and started with his crude jokes. His joke stopped short however when something caught his eye.

"Wow. Now I wouldn't mind havin' a go at those ladies.."

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce both looked curiously at their friend, turned to see what he was looking at and somehow it all became clear. It was Sun Ce's cue to groan and roll his eyes as his recent enemy stepped into the scene with her bubbly sister. Of course, it took no expert deducing at all for Zhou Yu to realise that this was the woman his best friend had been complaining about for days on end. Still, it seemed so hard to believe that such a delicate specimen would be the cause of all of Sun Ce's recent woes. In fact, it was positively hilarious to the Wu strategist. Before Sun Ce could get Zhou Yu to leave the vicinity, he found the young man leading the two ladies over to his current location. He shot his best friend a look of betrayal, which was met with a mock-innocent 'What?' expression.

Sun Ce rolled his eyes at his best friend who had clearly allowed his libido get in the way of his loyalty. Perhaps labelling the act as disloyal was a tad bit of an overreaction, but he didn't really care about that at this point in time. Nevertheless, he was not about to lose face. Heck, he'd take the advice his best friend had given to him: It was a party, he may as well have fun while he was there.

"Ladies, it is a pleasure to have you here." the young man bowed in their direction; everything about the gesture was overly extravagant and the raven-haired sister clearly detected the sarcasm. Coming here was definitely a mistake, but she wasn't ready to fall down to his level. She had just arrived, it didn't make sense to have such a miserable time.

She bowed her head respectfully at the man with a serene smile on her face, "My Lord." No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of getting annoyed at him this evening. "You are mistaken, it is _our_ greatest pleasure and honour to be here tonight." At this point, it was very clear to both people that they were going to play this game. They were going to continue this charade to see whose poker face would crack first.

Although Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu were a part of the conversation, it seemed as though the little group had been divided in half. The two bystandanders exchanged a glance: partial (actually mostly) amusement, partial concern for their own sides. It was at this moment, the two people realised that they weren't being forced to stand there and watch as the people they loved painfully pretended not to be bickering. Almost as though they knew what the other was thinking, they laughed at the fact that they were on the same wavelength. Coincidentally this sliced right through the tension that was looming over the foursome. Sun Ce and Da Qiao stopped performing their passive stand-off as they wondered what exactly was going on. So far, this was proving to be a most unusual evening. Then again, why should they have been expecting anything less?

Glad that they had somehow created a diversion, Zhou Yu seized the opportunity to quench his curiosity about the woman before him. "Lady Xiao Qiao," he began with a bow. "I've heard so much of the musical talent you sister's possess, would you honour me with a dance?" he gracefully offered his hand, expecting the girl to shyly place her own in his so that he could whisk her away. Unexpectedly however, although the girl did at first daintily provide her delicate hand, the handsome man found himself being dragged away onto the dance floor. The young Qiao sister was unlike anyone he had ever met before, but perhaps this was a refreshing change. He smiled to himself as he found that it was he himself that was being whisked away.

The two that had been left alone were looking strangely at the interaction between the Wu strategist and the bubby girl. It was strange to see them getting along… So well. Da Qiao didn't know whether she should scold her younger sister later as there was obvious flirting going on. While the dancing couple were quite obviously complete opposites to each other, something was clearly causing them to hit it off extremely well. Embarrassingly enough, when either had the opportunity to make eye contact with their non-dancing counterpart, they mouthed something along the lines of 'go dance with him' or used their eyes to signal 'ask her to dance'. They were being far from subtle in their signals, which only made the situation a bit more humiliating. Eventually, Xiao Qiao and Zhou Yu gave up on their cause and disappeared as Zhou Yu twirled her deeper into the crowd.

It was at this point, it seemed as though the couple really had been left alone to be silent in their little bubble together. No matter how much they avoided looking at each other, or even turning away slightly, the other couldn't help but sneak a glance at the person next to them. It was as though there was always this competition between them. Who would give in first?

Eventually, a hand was held out before Da Qiao. He felt as though he had accomplished something by making the first move between them, although his pride was hurt yet again as she merely stared snobbishly at his offer to dance.

"What, you're too good to dance with me?" he teased. "Last I remember, you were pretty forward with me in the guest house." The young man deliberately made the accusation a little bit more audible in case people around their perimeter didn't hear.

"Sun Ce!" she tried to hush him up, and smiled embarrassingly at those around them who were giving judgemental stares. "He's joking, my Lord likes to joke a lot.." the eavesdroppers smirked at her bashful appearance and uncomfortable laughter. She couldn't help but notice Sun Ce's 'buddies' were cheering for him which made her blush significantly more. The girl shot a glare back at him. "Very funny." A sigh. "Fine. One dance." Da Qiao accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her to the floor.

"One dance? I'm so grateful- Ow!" he mocked gratitude, which was met with a kick to the shin.

"Oops, clumsy me…" she apologised with her sickeningly sweet smile.

He rolled his eyes, ignoring her childishness. Yes, he understood the irony of accusing her of childish behaviour.

For a while, the two danced in silence. Then it was Da Qiao's turn to start up a conversation.

"So you stood me up twice. Well done." the young girl hadn't initially intended on bringing up their failed arrangements, but she knew that if it was uncomfortable for her to talk about, it would probably be uncomfortable for him also. To put it shortly, any discomfort she could cause him at this point in the game would make her immensely happy. She watched as he floundered for an explanation.

"Ah, jeez. I had a feeling you'd get worked up about that.."

"Worked up? No, I think my Lord is mistaken.." She quickly interrupted him. "I wasn't _upset_, I was simply inconvenienced. It takes a lot of time to get to the palace."

He nodded. "Of course. An inconvenience." He winked, making her feel as though he didn't believe her. However on a serious note, he added. "But you know what _was_ an inconvenience? Being forced to slave over a menu that the two of us were meant to enjoy on the first of those failed arrangements only for the young lady to fail to show up… Why was that again?"

"I had a severe migraine. It was brought on by fatigue of sorts…"

"Sure." he rolled his eyes. At least the second time he cancelled was for a real excuse.

"You don't believe me?" she pretended to look hurt. "Is it really so different to postponing your return because you 'fell off your horse'?"

"I really fell."

"Sure." it was her turn to roll her eyes. No, that wasn't lady like. But at this point in their relationship, they were probably past manners.

"No. I really did." he insisted.

Something in his expression made her realise that he was in fact telling the truth. Naturally, she did feel a little guilty. "Oh." Maybe she would cut him some slack. Only some, mind you. "Well, were you very hurt?"

"Do you care?" he replied, unwilling to waste his breath.

"Would I have bothered to ask if I didn't?" she shot back. It was useless to offer him the slack. He didn't deserve it. The tempo of the song increased suddenly and called for a complicated dance sequence. Both participants carried out the steps beautifully. Da Qiao gracefully allowed herself to be led around the dance floor as the Wu prince magnificently fulfilled his role as the lead in the dance. Those merely acting as spectators to the scene would honestly believe the beauty in their body language and be terribly shocked by the conversation.

With a dip, Sun Ce held Da Qiao close to the floor firmly in his grasp. His arms did not buckle under her weight in the difficult position as often was the case when the girl performed this dance. For a moment, the two stared into each other's eyes. A strange feeling overcame them suddenly, and a warmth from somewhere within themselves was kindling. Sun Ce's tanned cheeks turned a shade redder, but he wouldn't allow this to be seen. He realised the song had been over for a few seconds but the dance partner in his arms had not said anything. The moment didn't feel wrong or anything although if they stayed in this position any longer, it would just become a bit awkward. He abruptly lifted her back up; whatever had just happened between them was over.

Sun Ce cleared his throat. "One dance. There you go."

Da Qiao had been more than surprised at the man's ability to move. To be honest, she had only been expecting him to know the basic steps. However when she thought about it, she realised that the man was a member of the Wu family - of course he would be expected to learn the art of dance. She felt silly for wanting another dance; it was her own fault for insisting on the one after all. The porcelain girl simply nodded her head and then looked around as she wondered where her sister had gotten to.

"Well, thank you for the dance," she started awkwardly but felt as though she had to add in something else "I suppose." Just because he could dance well didn't mean that he wasn't still a fool, right? She bowed her head and excused herself. "I need to find Xiao Qiao. It's my responsibility to keep her from acting indecently this evening."

"Sure.." He felt unusual all of a sudden. This feeling the two of them were experiencing was similar to that moment in the rain when he had walked her home. It was almost as though the two of them had really connected for a minute. They had forgotten all about their bickering and had let their defences down; they had seen the real sides of each other. Then again, the man knew that any minute now something was going to ruin this moment. "Well, see ya round. I suppose."

With that, the two parted ways. Both were confused about what had just gone down between them. Da Qiao wondered if the flustered blush that remained on her cheeks was merely from the dance. They couldn't have just shared a true moment together could they? She shook her head and fanned herself with her hand discreetly in an attempt to cool down. This was no time to start feeling something for her enemy. After all, where was this coming from all of a sudden? No. She was only surprised by the fact that he was such a good mover. That was all. It was time to focus on other things now, like finding out where her troublesome sister had gotten to.

As she circuited the dance floor once, heavily scrutinising the faces on it to see if she could recognise her younger sister, she concluded that the girl was not there. Where else was there to go at this party? There were the other rooms of the palace… But Da Qiao was highly doubtful that the Wu courtier, Zhou Yu, would allow such an improper thing to occur. Her inner self panicked slightly. He wouldn't, surely? She knew that her sister was a bit more carefree and naïve than the average girl, but Lord Zhou Yu wouldn't do anything to take advantage of her right? She took a second to breathe and counted to five in her head. As she gathered her composure, and realised that her sister was probably in safer hands than any, she thought she heard the familiar giggle of just the person she was looking for. She looked around and realised that the sound was not from inside, but from the outside. Da Qiao was currently near one of the very large windows of the palace. They had all been left open so that the light breeze from the outside would prevent those residing in the interior not to overheat. It revealed the beautiful gardens that the palace boasted. She was sure that there were many a tree Xiao Qiao would love to climb in it. Well, honestly, she hoped she wasn't climbing up on them; that really would be quite an unnecessary thing to do at such an event.

She decided to follow her instinct and ventured out into the palace gardens. By this time, it was evening and when she stepped out onto the grass, a cool breeze swept over her. She looked up at the sky and saw the moon in its full form. Even though she could still hear the music and excitement from within the Wu palace, it seemed so much quieter here; it was like she had entered another building altogether. If anyone came out here to be alone, she wouldn't blame them. Not only was the evening sky wondrous, but the way the moonlight hit the plants in the garden made the whole palace seem just a bit magical. The sight before her almost took her breath away, and she felt alone with herself for a moment; it wasn't a lonely feeling though, in fact it was quite pleasant.

x x x x

He saw her leave the palace. What was she doing now? If she was looking for her sister, then she was literally headed in the wrong direction. Coincidentally, Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao had re-entered the banquet hall, all smiles of course. Knowing that her search out there was futile, Sun Ce decided to save her the trouble. Sure, she'd been a pain since the day he'd met her, but the apparently rare moments that they had experienced together made her realise that she couldn't have been that awful. He took a step forward and was literally stopped in his tracks by his own mother and father.

"Darling," the familiar call of his mother caused him to turn around. "You haven't met our German friends, have you?"

The Little Conqueror looked curiously at the new strangers. The man, apparently called Albert Schwarz was a German ambassador in the country. He was a very tall man with tidily cut platinum hair with icy blue eyes that pierced right through his core. While the man was clearly very striking, his wife was also very beautiful. This was the Chinese beauty that his mother had told him about that morning, Mei Li. Well, she certainly was beautiful. She had long, dark hair that flowed down her back as it had a slight wave in it. She wasn't as tall as her husband, but the very slender woman was still very tall. In fact, the appearance of this couple was very hard to describe. While there was certainly something odd about them, it seemed that this quality was what made them so much more strikingly lovely. Everyone who had the chance to take a peek at the foreign couple seized the opportunity to.

Sun Ce bowed in respect to the couple who had just been introduced. "It is my honour to welcome you to China. I am Sun Ce of Wu."

x x x x

"It's beautiful, is it not?" a voice asked behind her.

Da Qiao turned around, startled by the sudden intrusion in her personal moment. The voice of the man that had suddenly appeared was unusual. Although she understood him perfectly, it was as though Chinese was not his first language. When she finally did have the chance to see who it was speaking to her, the girl certainly did see something foreign in him. The mysterious new man had very dark hair which juxtaposed greatly with his piercing blue eyes. This gentleman was certainly Western, yet at the same time there was something undeniably oriental about him. The young girl knew she was staring, but she felt it would be even ruder if she were to enquire his genetic routes. Quickly shifting her staring glance, she felt apologetic all of a sudden.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You startled me."

"I apologise." The man bowed forward politely. "May I ask what a young lady like you is doing out here all alone tonight?"

Naturally, she blushed at the obvious compliment. This man was certainly unusual. Da Qiao had never met anyone quite like him. She smiled, "I'm only looking for my sister. I feel like she wandered off into the gardens."

"Allow me to accompany you." The foreign man had made the request, although it sounded as though he would come even if she had declined his offer. "I won't have you wandering the palace gardens on your own. You never know what kind of person you could bump into."

Da Qiao laughed, partially out of discomfort as this man, no matter how charming he appeared to be, was still a stranger in her eyes. Even though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, there was something odd in his manner. Still, she understood his reasoning and felt that it wasn't too awful of a request. She smiled and they walked out beside each other.

While there was simply silence for a short while, the gentleman spoke up. "I have a sister myself. She's always getting in trouble back home." he smiled in a way which made Da Qiao feel as though he and his sibling were close.

"And… where is your home?" All of a sudden, it felt okay to ask this question. He seemed willing to open up to her. Surely this question wouldn't be too invasive?

"Germany. It's very far from here.." He said with a distant look in his eyes. Did he miss the country? "But my mother is from China. One day I'd like to consider this country my home too." the stranger smiled at her and, in response, Da Qiao smiled back.

They had been walking around the gardens for a while, when the two finally decided that their efforts were pointless. It seemed as though Xiao Qiao was not outside, if she even was. What had made her even come out in the first place?

"I'm beginning to believe this will be a wasted search." laughed Da Qiao.

"Well, I wouldn't say it was a complete waste." the young man said, smiling to himself.

This smile distracted Da Qiao somehow. She couldn't help but compare the man to Sun Ce. He was so different to him. While this man had immediately offered to help her, Sun Ce had simply left her to her own devices when she said she was going off to find her sister. There was also the obvious difference of their manner of speech. For a prince, Sun Ce spoke incredibly colloquially. This gentleman, whose name she did not know at this point, spoke Chinese fluently despite his Germanic origins. Her next thought was interrupted as she suddenly tripped over something. What had it been? She thought they were on a simple garden path. Well, maybe one of the pavestones were loose.

Either way, while she had been walking upright one minute, the next minute she had found herself in the arms of this mysterious and foreign man. He helped her up and she couldn't help but be a little flustered about the incident.

"I'm so sorry! Thank you for preventing a possible injury. I'm not usually so clumsy…" she said once she had gotten her composure back.

He only laughed. "Well, may I have a token of gratitude for this grand gesture?"

Da Qiao laughed also; she didn't quite understand what he could possibly mean. It was only when the man seemed to be leaning in to her did she begin to get uncomfortable. Was he being serious? "W-what are you doing?" She leaned away, although he had he was holding her quite firmly by the arms. If he was joking he would stop any minute. "U-uhm. Sir, this isn't proper. We don't even know each other; I don't even know you're name!"

"Whatever happened to submitting to the moment?" the new stranger that she had encountered was apparently willing to close this gap. Da Qiao closed her eyes, was this really going to happen? Where were all the gentlemen in the world all of a sudden? Was she doomed to forever meet unusual men for the rest of her life?

Her lips did not make contact with anything however. In fact, the person she least expected to help out arrived on the scene.

"Heng Qi Schwarz."

Da Qiao sensed the proximity of the man increase in distance, and the grip on her arms loosened. She stepped away from him quickly and relief swept over her as the familiar voice revealed his face. This was the first time she had ever associated relief with seeing Sun Ce. The Wu prince walked down the garden steps that led to their current location as he surveyed the scene before him suspiciously.

"I don't believe we've been acquainted." He had dropped his suspicions for now; there was no sense in causing a scene or causing aggravation so soon. After all, they were supposed to be forming allies with this western family. He bowed and began to introduce himself. "I am Sun Ce of Wu. Son and heir to Sun Jian."

The German man bowed in return. "Oh, how unfair. You already know my name. But allow me to introduce myself once more for the benefit of this fine lady. I am Heng Qi Schwarz, son of the German ambassador. I am in China to discover the other half of my heritage." Sun Ce spared a sceptical glance at the unusual foreigner as he glanced over Da Qiao, who had somehow managed to wind her way to his own side. "Let's just say, if everything is as beautiful as what I've seen so far… I look forward to seeing the rest of China.

Da Qiao couldn't help but feel strange whenever this Heng Qi looked at her. It just seemed as though he had an ulterior motive. Now that she had witnessed his unusual behaviour, she felt like making a little resolution to herself then and there that she would be more cautious next time she met him. There was clearly a cultural clash between the two of them. The worrying thing about the whole thing, to Da Qiao anyway, had been that she had been rather charmed by the young man at first. A lesson she seemed to be learning was that people weren't always what they seemed. However, what she was now annoyed with herself about the most was that she thought she had already been taught this lesson earlier in life. Why was she letting herself fail the tests of life in this way?

At that moment, a servant of the palace entered, bowed down and said the second most reassuring thing of the evening. "The Qiao carriage is here."

"Thank you." Da Qiao smiled at the servant, who took this as his cue to return to his other duties. At least now she would be able to return to the safety of her own home. This evening, though it had seemed quite a short event, was definitely becoming quite memorable.

She noticed Heng Qi looked as though he was going to offer his companionship once again, but Sun Ce - whether or not he noticed her unease was of no importance to her at that point in time - thankfully swiftly interjected , "I'll take her." She released a short breath.

The German man nodded his head, bowing out gracefully from this one challenge. He strode over casually to Da Qiao, took her hand and kissed it lightly. Sun Ce cocked an eyebrow, wondering how this man was so confident with himself, though he was certainly amused by the look of bewilderment on the Qiao lady's face at the extravagant gesture.

"It was so lovely to meet you, Lady Qiao."

The dark-haired beauty laughed, trying to conceal her embarrassment. "I certainly, will not forget our meeting Mr Heng Qi." With that, Sun Ce and Da Qiao parted with the newly acquainted man so that she could be on her way home.

"You looked pretty cosy with him." Sun Ce mentioned, when the two of them were out of earshot.

Of course, Da Qiao understood what the man meant. She blushed at the implication. "So? I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to be." Although she said this, she did know what could have happened if Sun Ce had failed to show up. But his sudden conversation topic was making it hard for her to be gratuitous.

"Okay, so what are you acting embarrassed about?" he teased in response.

She looked away, so he couldn't see her face. Was she really blushing so badly? She wanted to feel her cheeks to see if they were producing a lot of heat, but then that would just be proving her companion's point even further. "I'm not acting embarrassed. Why do you care? Are you jealous or something?"

"No!" now it seemed to be his turn to be embarrassed once again. The air turned silence as the two simply stewed in their discomfort. He didn't really want to drop the conversation however. "Why, is there something to be jealous of?"

The girl stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily. "This is a silly conversation. Why do we always talk in circles?"

"You're the one who doesn't answer questions…" was his come back.

"You're not answering mine."

Sun Ce opened his mouth and began to retaliate, however it was then that they both realised that their conversation had looped and they couldn't help but smile at this.

They silently continued their stroll back to the carriage, but Da Qiao did feel that she owed Sun Ce something for coming to her rescue. "Um. I'm kind of relieved you came." It may have seemed a bit of an odd tangent, but the girl was sure he would understand.

"Hm, oh really?" Unfortunately she did not receive a mature response as Sun Ce smirked beside her.

She nudged him slightly out of irritation. "Hey I'm being serious." The young girl shook her head, not understanding how she thought the man would not reciprocate the tone. She continued despite this. "Anyway, I just feel like you should be a bit cautious with that man."

He turned to her seriously. "What? Did he do something to you?"

"No! He didn't do anything to me…" She was about to credit that fact to him, but decided not to. After all his silly behaviour, Da Qiao simply felt that he didn't require the ego boosst.

The eldest son of Wu stared the girl down a little more, sensing that she was hiding something. Whatever it was, he felt as though she wasn't going to let it out any minute, and sighed a bit as he scratched the back of his neck. He wondered suddenly if he would get into any trouble, and if so how much, if he decided to give Heng Qi a little warning. "I wouldn't worry about it. He's going back to Germany after the week is up. Well, so his parents say. The ambassador's wife and son were only going to accompany him on the journey here. After a week of sight seeing, they'll take the long journey back.

"I see."

It was at this point that the two found themselves back at the carriage so it was time for them to part ways now. A little unsure about where they stood with each other after the events of the evening, Da Qiao kept the farewell simple. With a simple nod, "Thank you for the dance, My Lord." she supposed that one could never really go wrong with a formal farewell.

Neither of the two parted ways at that point though. Once again, they seemed to be having one of those moments. A moment like they had shared under the rain, a moment that felt the same as it had when Sun Ce had danced with her. It was a moment where it seemed that their guards were down; they weren't trying to one-up each other. Both of them seemed to be on the same wavelength and were just enjoying it apparently.

However these moments only seemed to last as long as neither of them noticed it. It seemed as though Sun Ce was the one to realise they were doing it again. He built up his walls again and did not allow the girl to connect. Putting on his jokey façade once more, he chuckled. "Oh, wow. What is this?" by referring to the moment they knew they both shared, he was completely tainting it. "Did I impress you so much this evening?"

Yes. The moment was officially over. "Ugh." Da Qiao rolled her eyes. "You have to ruin it." She stormed back into the carriage without sparing the prince so much as a second glance.

As Sun Ce turned to leave, he couldn't help but question the grin he had on his face.

She huffed in her seat, angry at the way Sun Ce failed to even attempt being nice to her at times. Much more to her own chagrin, she found that she was failing to stifle the fact that the corners of her cherry lips were turning up. It was at this point that she caught her sister beside her finding this all terribly amusing. Before Xiao Qiao could even open her mouth to tease her older sister, Da Qiao held up her own finger.

"No. You don't get to say anything."

They could both practically read each other's minds at this point. Xiao hushed up bashfully but then all of a sudden burst out into a fit of giggles, knowing fully well that Da Qiao had been looking for her while she had been having a most splendid evening with Lord Zhou Yu.

"Ah Sis…" she sighed in a loving way, as she leaned on her older sister's shoulder.

While the evening had certainly not gone at all to plan (not that the girl had been planning anything in particular), she couldn't say she was unhappy at this point in time. She looked out the window and watched the lights from the lanterns of the Wu palace fade away in the distance. All the while, the girl maintained that peaceful smile.

"Ah Sis…" she repeated her sister's sentiment and leaned her own head on her sister's.

* * *

**So there's the fourth chapter up.**

**After.. How long? I've been feeling so guilty uhhh ==**

**I'm working on the next chapter right now, but like I said at the beginning - No promises I'm so sorry; I really hate letting you guys down. D;**

**I love to hear what you have to say about my fanfic. I've loved the positive comments and feedback so far :D**

**Annie x**


End file.
